Statement by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe

I am very concerned at the adoption by the Polish Sejm of a bill on the Constitutional Tribunal yesterday because it poses a serious threat to the rule of law.

In my recent [ report ] on Poland, I expressed concern at the current paralysis of the Constitutional Tribunal because of its negative impact on the protection of human rights and I called on the Polish authorities to urgently find a way out of the present deadlock. Like the Venice Commission, I stressed that the rule of law required that any such solution be based on respect and full implementation of the judgments of the Constitutional Tribunal.
However, the bill adopted by the Sejm yesterday goes in the opposite direction.

For this serious reason, I call on the Senate to prevent a bad bill from becoming law and ensure that the rule of law in Poland is fully respected.